Second Best
by MidniteDancer
Summary: Roma's fears are confirmed. Spain has always liked Feli best. They always do...
1. Chapter 1

4

Second Best

Ch. 1

Romano paused in his grumblings—and sweeping—when there was a knock on the door.

The boy scowled and proceeded to softly spew Italian profanities at his boss. He quieted though and inched closer to the front door to hear his boss. Of course he didn't trust the tomato bastard. "!Hola! ?Como es…"

"A message from Lord Rodrich Eldstine." Romano moved softly closer to the door. _Fratello_ was with the fancy bastard, maybe something happened to his idiot brother!

The Spaniard sighed, "Its Prussia again, isn't it?" The man said nothing but soon there was a sound of ripping paper signifying that he was opening the envelope. "As I thought. We'll be right down. You're dismissed."

Romano scampered to the other side of the room to continue his sweeping. Spain came back though the door wearing his usual smile, "Roma?~ Do you want to go see your brother? I need to…"

"Yes, you idiot, let's go!" he threw down the broom and walked out the door, a laughing Spain behind him.

~X~

"Lovi!~ How are you?~" Romano was greeted at Austria's door by his little brother (who was in a dress identical to his, only in green. Hungary had made them, much to Romano's horror and Spain's delight).

"Feliciano! _Come stai_?Is the fancy bastard and the albino bastard treating you well?" Romano had a large soft spot in his heart for his brother.

Even if he caused him one of the greatest pains in his life, "Roma! Feli! You're getting along so well!~"

He was cut off with a head pulverizing his abdomen, "You can't call him that, tomato bastard!"

"Why not Roma? Feli doesn't mind, does he?" The younger Italian shook his head vigorously, curl bouncing, then ran forward and was scooped into a hug by Spain.

Romano scowled and crossed his arms but for the most part held his temper in check. For his brother. "Oh, Lovi!" Feli turned around in Spain's arms to look at his brother while the Spaniard continued to coo at him, "There's someone I want you to meet!" He's finally able to hop down out of Spain's arms, much to his disappointment, "He's a good friend, I hope you like him. Follow me!~" the boy took off into the house and Romano 'humph'ed before quickly following him.

~X~

After a half an hour of scouring the house, looking for Feli's mystery friend, Romano stopped his brother while they were in the kitchen down stairs, "I'm not going to go running all over the fancy bastard's house. I'm going outside, come get me if you find him." Feliciano nodded solemnly, determined to find his friend, while Romano went to be alone outside.

There was a hill out behind the house with a small surrounding of trees. As Romano crossed the hill he heard someone yell, "Hey, Italy!" He didn't recognize the voice and no one ever called him Italy, so he ignored it. But then they called again, closer, "Italy!"

Someone probably thought he was his brother again. Bastard. Now he steadfastly ignored the voice and increased his pace. He'd just crested the hill when he heard foot falls behind him. Suddenly someone grabbed his sleeve, "Italy! I've been calling you for a while. Why didn't you…?"

Romano had whipped around and snatched his sleeve out of the guy's grasp. Quickly he took in the idiot's appearance. The boy was about the same size as he, if not a centimeter taller. He was garbed in dark priest's clothes and a ridiculous hat that covered what looked to be blond hair. The boy was too pale to be from his own home but he spoke with the same accent. His eyes were blue and had a hardness around them that showed that the boy's seen battle. Now, though, they were confused and slightly anxious.

The boy flushed darker when the Italian set his withering brown-eyed gaze on him, "Italy? Wha…?"

"I'm Italia Romano, idiot!"

The boy narrowed his eyes in thought and romano crosses his arms. Suddenly, the blue eyes grew wide in recollection, "You're Italy's older brother, aren't you?"

The young Italian scowled, "No, I'm his second uncle, twice removed." He shook his head then stopped as a thought hit him. He snapped his smoldering gaze back to the blonde, "What do you want with _mi fratello_?"

The boy's flush, which had started to dissolve, returned in full force, "I—ah—was told Italy was looking for me."

Romano narrowed his eyes, "So that means you're…?"

Romano was cut off by the high-pitched voice of his brother, "Holy Rome! I found you!" The Holy Roman Empire turned to see Italy racing out of the trees towards the two, "Lovi, you're here too!~ Are you two friends yet?"

Romano switched his gaze from his brother to the by, "Holy Rome? You're the albino bastard's younger brother?" The younger blonde paused a moment before nodding. Romano scowled again, "Why the hell have you been hanging around _mi_…?"

"Please! I am nearly a friend of your sister! I would hope that you and I could…"

"Sister?" Romano's eyes flicked to his rather girly brother in his dress. He looked so clueless that you could almost see the question mark over his head. The older Italian grinned, "Of course. I'm glad Italy has more friends," he managed to say the last two words without sounding sour, "But, If you try anything, _bastardo_, _anything_, I will make sure my friends find you and set you straight,_capito_?"

Holy Rome blinded a couple of times before nodding resolutely. Romano's smiled held the promise of his threat.

Suddenly, a cheery voice rang out from behind them in the house, "Feli!~ Roma!~ Where are you?" Feliciano tugged at Holy Rome's hand, pulling the boy with him and Romano grumbled as he too turned and trudged back to the house.

Before he got tugged too far ahead, Holy Rome turned back to Romano and asked, "By the way, why are you wearing a pink dress?" Romano's face heated up as he colourfully cursed out the blonde.

~X~

After meeting with Austria and Spain (where the tomato bastard cooed over them, much to Romano's horror) he and Feli were given the day off and were left to their own devices. Romano, quickly getting bored of the fancy bastard's house, was walking back to the room and noming a tomato (which he took). When he got to the door he paused a moment to listen to the bastards talk. "_Mi amigo_, having little Roma's fine but I often wish I could have Feli!" Romano stilled, tomato momentarily forgotten and ear straining towards the conversation. Vaguely, he felt a slight sinking in his chest.

"Oh really?" Austria replied, words dipped in sarcasm, "Would have never guessed."

"_Si_," he completely missed the sarcasm, "Besides, he's so cute!~ I haven't heard him insult me and he's less violent than Romano and he lets me hug him! It's kinda amazing how he and Roma are twins…"

Romano bolted away from the hallway and, to his horror,, he felt the first hot tears trickle down his cheek. _That damn tomato bastard! _He was just like everyone else! It was always about Feli. Always Feli! _He tricked me into liking me! No, I don't like him. Trusting him… the bastard trick me, God damnit! He could have at least told me!_

"_Fratello_?" the soft voice slowed Romano to a stop. He looked around to find Feliciano watching him worriedly. He tried to glare at his brother, tried to hate him, but he couldn't. Feli was just Feli, cute, nice, and naive. "_Fratello_?" Feli said again, coming closer, "Where are you going? And what did you do to your tomato?"

It was only then that Romano noticed that both his hands were in fists and the remnants of the tomato were now a pulpy mess in his right hand. He flung what was left of the poor fruit on the ground and wiped his sticky red hand on his apron, "Nothing," he replied. He was about to walk away before an idea struck him, "Feli," He managed to looked up to meet his brother's caramel brown eyes, "Give the tomato bastard a hug, alright? The idiot likes you." Romano then turned from his brother and walked calmly to the kitchen. After making sure no one was around, little Romano bolted out the back door into the woods.

~x~X~x~

Gah! Sorry this wasn't posted on a Sunday. Things happened...  
>Anyway, this is just a small trilogy that I wanted to write. Featuring Chibimano, of course.<br>Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

3

Second Best

Ch. 2

Feliciano watched his brother walk away, shoulders trembling slightly, meaning he was holding back tears. He took a step towards him but remembered Romano told him to do something. Although the request was ridiculous, especially with his brother on the verge of tears, but he'd always say he'd listen to his brother. So he went off to find Spain.

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes ago…<em>

Spain mentally sighed and glanced out the window. He'd really much rather be outside picking tomatoes with Lovi~…

"Spain! Are you listening to me?" Spain looked back to the angry Austrian and sighed, aloud this time.

"I'll be honest _amigo_, no I'm not. This is the, what, fifth or sixth time…"

"Just the sixth!" Austria was red faced and indignant. Spain was incredibly lucky that there wasn't a piano in the room.

Spain continued before Austria could continue, "Exactly. You're obviously not taking care of the situation _muy__bueno_. Perhaps, instead of just retaliating against him, perhaps you should try talking with Prussia."

Austria narrowed his eyes at the laid-back Spaniard, "You've gotten close to him, haven't you?"

"_Si_. Me, France, and Prussia often get together for drinks."

Now Austria sighed and lightly facepalmed, "I should have guessed. If you're not going to fight with me perhaps you should just take Romano and go home."

Spain brightened up immediately, "_Sí__que__suena__bien_! But, I was thinking…"

"Spain…" Austria's voice had an obvious warning tone.

Which the Spaniard totally ignored, "_Mi__amigo_, having little Romano's fine but I often wished I had Feli."

"Oh really?" Austria replied words dipped in sarcasm, "I would have never guessed."

"_Si_," he completely missed the sarcasm, "Besides, he's so cute!~ I haven't heard him insult me and he's less violent then Romano and he lets me hug him! It's kinda amazing how he and Roma are twins…"

"I don't want Romano."

Spain's eyes widened, "Oh, no no nono! I meant having Feli _as__well_. I would never ever give up my little Lovi!~"

"I'm not giving you Feli. Italy is one of the most stable things helping my economy. Especially after all these run ins with Prussia."

Spain rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, but I don't like seeing him used like that."

"It's good for him. Why do you like Romano so much? The kid's a brat."

Spain blinked momentarily at the sudden change of subject, "he's no a brat! He's misunderstood!" He paused a moment and thought, "He's lonely. I think… I think he's used to being second best. It's just his nature to be difficult. He doesn't like getting close to others because they would inevitably pick Feli over him." Spain's eyes drifted off into the distance, "For one so small, he's very strong. To be able to hold together after years of being forgotten, even by his grandfather, it's amazing."

Austria was silent through all of this. After a few moments he spoke, breaking through Spain's reverie, "Something you can relate to." Silently, Spain gave a single nod.

The atmosphere shattered when Italy opened the door, causing both larger nations to jump. "Italy!" Austria spoke first, "Why didn't you knock? What is it?"

Italy didn't say anything but walked over to Spain and put his arms out for a hug. Spain was temporarily surprised but got over it quickly and scooped up the small Italian happily.

"This is from Romano." Spain froze. Something was wrong. He pulled Italy out and studied the small country's face. Italy had whispered it in Spain's ear but its impact was immediate.

Italy wasn't smiling. His face had an unaccustomed seriousness and confusion. Something was very wrong. "What do you mean Feli? Where's Lovi now?"

Italy shook his head, confusion, and now worry, growing.

Spain was about to speak again but there was a small knock on the door. Before Austria could even stand up, Spain was opening the door, Italian still in hand.

It was Holy Rome.

His blue eyes stared up in surprise at the Spaniard but then flicked to Italy and he flushed.

Spain spoke quickly, no patience to coo over their romance, "Holy Rome? What do you want?" At the mention of the small country's name Spain felt a presence behind him look over his shoulder.

"Eh?" Holy Rome refocused on Spain, "Ah, _si_, I was wondering if you knew where Feli was going but I realise now…"

"You mistook Romano for Feli," Spain's glare burnt a hole through the small blonde.

"Ah, _s-si_. I…"

"Where was he going?" Austria felt nothing but sympathy for the small nation who had started to tremble slightly. An angry Spain had that effect on people.

"H-He ran out the back door into the woods. I w-wasn't fast enough to follow."

Before Holy Rome had finished stuttering, Spain turned and thrust Feli into Austria's shocked arms and ran to the kitchen before the man even had a proper grasp. He burst the back door off its hinges in his race to the woods.

* * *

><p>Ok, I lied in my last one. "Trilogy" was the wrong word for this. It just has three chapters.<p>

Yeah...

No Chibimono in this one, just what happened since.

Oh ho! I used line breaks!

Please note:  
>-I fail at Spanish, all of this has been internetedly translated. (Ps. I can't find the special "i" key on the keyboard.) *shot*<br>-There's always a chance that I have messed up my spelling/grammar.  
>-I once drempt of owning Hetalia...<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Second Best

Ch. 3

Romano grumbled under his breath. It was damp and getting dark and cold. He knew that, legally and politically, he was supposed to stay with Spain. He was a nation first and foremost.

But right now he started feeling his humanity. He'd been walking for hours and was very thoroughly lost.

And he was starting to hear things. Trees and bushes rustled in the distance, and closer. The squirrels (they probably know the damn one that wet his bed!) and birds were watching him.

He didn't even know where he was going to.

Romano felt tears start to prickle at his eyes and, with a huff, sat down on a raised root that was _not_ comfortable on his rear.

He would _not_think about the tomato bastard. If he didn't want him, he wouldn't hang around. He cursed to himself and scrubbed uselessly at his eyes. Tears began to trickle down anyway.

Feliciano. Everyone loved Feliciano. Austria, Hungary, even Rome preferred his younger brother. It wasn't his fault if there was nothing he could do, damn it!

_Yes there is. You could be more like Feliciano._

No! That's Feli! Not Lovi…

_But then Antonio…_

Tomato bastard!

_...would like you more_

No, no he would like Feli. I would just be trying to be like Feli.

_But…_

"NO!" He yelled and slammed a hand onto the root. He cried out when he discovered that a briar bush had twined there. "Stupid, stupid thorns!" He held his hand gingerly as he got up from the root, warm tears gliding down his cheek.

He was wandering aimlessly, plucking tenderly at some thorns still stuck in his hand. _Toni__probably__hasn__'__t__even__realised__I__'__m__gone_.

Suddenly he stopped moving and held still. He could have sworn he heard something…

"Lovi!"

It was distant and faint but it was there. For a moment or two, Romano's pride kept him from running.

"Lovi!"

… But then his hand throbbed again and he was tired and hungry.

But he was still mad at the toma...

"Lovi can you hear me?"

He was running as fast as he could through the underbrush towards the Spaniard's voice.

"Lovi please come out!"

The voice was nearby. But through the trees he couldn't find the direction of his voice…

"Lovi please!"

Damn it, now it sounded behind him! Romano turned around and paused a moment, weighing his pride versus his situation.

"Antonio! You idiot, where are you?"

"Lovi?" His voice seemed to pick up a note of hope, "Lovi keep talking, I'm coming to get you!"

Romano didn't know what to say but just stood still for a few minutes. "Lovi?" His voice sounded panicked again.

"I'm over here you idiot!"

There was quiet for a moment then, in another direction, "Marco!~"

What the hell? Romano stammered, "P-Polo?"

"Marco!~"

Romano reddened. The bastard _was_ an idiot, "Polo, you bastard!"

Suddenly, a dark shape, distant among the tree, made itself visible to Romano's view. For a moment he panicked, "Toni!"

The figure's head swung round to him and, with a tremendous sense of relief, Romano recognised the silhouette and started running forward.

The figure too bolted to the young Italian, "Lovi!" The small boy was immediately scooped into a rib bruising hug. But Romano didn't notice, he was too busy clinging to Spain.

Then he remembered he was mad at him, and promptly attempted to head-butt the bastard.

But Spain pulled back, putting him out of distance. He then crouched down and placed Romano on his feet in front of him. Romano was surprised but kept his gaze as angry as possible. Which wasn't easy with tears still flowing. "Lovino, what were you thinking?"

Romano didn't say anything. Spain prepared to reprimand the boy but he saw he was cradling his one hand. His irked expression turned worried, "Lovi, did you hurt your hand?" Romano pulled the appendage in tighter, "Let me see it."

Quietly, he held out his hand. Spain examined it gently and plucked out a few of the stray thorns. "What about Feliciano?"

Spain looked up with soft quizzical green eyes, "_Que_? What was that Lovi…?"

"What about Feliciano?" Romano spoke louder but kept his gaze on his hand, which was till in Spain's. "You like Feli better too? What are you going to do?"

Spain blinked twice before laughing and pulling Romano into a hug, careful of his hand, "Oh Lovi~ I do like Feli, and I'd love to have him at my house too, but no one could take the place of my Lovi~ You're too special!"

Romano went red and all he managed to say was, "I—I'm not yours you bastard!"

"I know Lovi~ Now let's go back to fix your hand then we can go home and eat some tomatoes, _si_?"

Romano nodded and tried to cover it but Spain saw the small smile, "Aww, Lovi~ You're so cute!" then he laughed as he scooped up the irate Italian and headed out of the woods.

* * *

><p>END<p>

* * *

><p>Well, that's it for Second Best! Hope you enjoyed it!<p>

Disclaimers:  
>-I don't own Hetalia<br>-My spelling/grammar sucks  
>-Slight cursing<br>-I don't know where the special little "i" key is on the keyboard  
>-The romours about me and that dragon are totally not true<p> 


End file.
